WildTigerTrout wrote:I'm about to replace my wading boots with a new pair. I feel the same way about wearing a brand new pair. My old ones are getting pretty worn and have alot of wear on them and need replaced soon. Wearing new ones I'm afraid will make me look like a rookie.

Let your fishing do the talking not your gear . I am always getting new vets and waders and never been accused of being a rookie . But I have been accused of wearing to much tweed

I don't wear tweed but I have a very comfortable straw hat that wear in the summer when it's hot. Old Lefty laughs at me when I wear it but it's so darn comfortable. It's a light natural color and I guess it does not blend into the background like the rest of my gear but I still catch fish wearing it. If Foxgap can wear an orange watchcap and still catch fish I guess I can continue to wear my straw hat.

Posted on: 2012/12/12 10:36

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"Even the thousandth trip to the same familiar stream begins with renewed hope and unfailing faith." ZANE GREY

I don't want to look like some hack on the stream. Sorry I can afford to buy nice NEW things. Must be a crime where y'all come from. You'll know me when you see me. Looks like I just stepped out of a simms ad. Hahahaha

Posted on: 2012/12/12 11:36

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Vedavoo.com American made packs and bags. 'Gear for the road less traveled'

I'm shocked, truly shocked, to see that about half of the respondents to this agree with my dear, darling wife! I am thankful that the other half seem to understand how humiliated I would be to be discovered wearing a new vest when mine is totally satisfactory. In fact, I am just getting ready to head out to the creek; I'll be wearing the old vest, an old pair of hippers that do not leak very much, and a well-worn denim jacket. My hat is one that I found in the muck along a stream one night a couple years ago. It appalls my wife and at least one of her friends that I would wear a hat I found in such a way, but it sure has been a lucky one -- and we all know hats and other talismans determine how many fish we catch, not our skill level! Well, I'm off to see the wizard.

Phish_ On ,I can afford it too but there is alot to be said for good, old, broke in and proven equipment. I have to admit though at times that I look like an ad for Simms, Richardson,Fishpond,Sage,Columbia, Cortland and several other manufacturers. In the end it really does not matter how we look because the fish could care less.

Posted on: 2012/12/12 12:04

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"Even the thousandth trip to the same familiar stream begins with renewed hope and unfailing faith." ZANE GREY

I just wish that a company would come along an make a product that will last me more then 1-2 years. Until that day comes, when I wear out a product it will be replaced. Instead of prolonging the inevitable, with "band aids". Who ever does the field testing for these big company's is not very good at there job. Any pair of waders an wading boots are the best when your sitting in a drift boat allday. Let me do the field testing. The big companies will not like the results I come up with, guarantee that.

Posted on: 2012/12/12 12:29

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Vedavoo.com American made packs and bags. 'Gear for the road less traveled'

Haha. I don't see fishing as a fashion statement. I'm not embarassed to be wearing new things, nor am I embarassed to be wearing old, worn down things.

My one "weird" lucky charm, that I wouldn't be caught dead on a stream without, is my fishing hat. It looks a lot like a cowboy hat, and indeed I bought it at a rodeo 10 or so years back. Technically it's an Australian "outback" hat, even made in Australia. Though the brim seems larger and stiffer than most outback hats. It is brown leather/suede on top. And I've put a small warehouse full of leather conditioners and silicon spray on the thing. It's all blotchy and ugly as a result. But it beads water like nobody's business. Will form a small pond in the cup of the brim if you stand still too long. But when you dump it, it's dry to the touch.

I know it looks ridiculous but it keeps the rain and sun off of me, is comfortable, and is unique and distinctive.

I lost my favorite hat, a TWEED hat (gasp!). It was an import from Donegal, Ireland. Warmest hat I ever had, had it for a long, long time. Sucked for summer, but in the fall and winter, it couldn't be beat. I wish I knew what happened to it.

I kinda have the same situation with my truck. It's 13 years old, and frequently needs repairs. In fact, I just did quite a bit of work on it the past few months. But it still looks pretty nice, and serves my fishing and camping needs just fineMy wife thinks I'm crazy to keep fooling around with it, and keeps telling me to get a new one. And I guess I will someday........

8 years, my vest has been with me since I started FF at 15yo. This past weekend I had the blaze orange vest on over it. A neon sign telling brookies to scatter to cover, I still managed to catch a few 3-7 inchers. What is more unnerving than a bear is hearing an armed hunter dragging his feet through the woods just over a hill from where I was fishing. I sat down and waited until I could locate him and subtly make sure that he saw me.

I can attest for ripping through gear as much as me n the other phish fish. Since last year I've been through 5 pairs of shitty waders. I'll be getting something decent at the ff show. Plenty of the rods I use are like squatch super old. There's nothing like an old slow rod. Though it's always nice having nice stuff.

I didn't get cold, though I get cold a lot faster than I used to and is one of the many reasons that deer hunting is becoming an irrelevant activity for me. Anyhow, under my old denim jacket I wore an old hooded gray sweatshirt, which was enough to keep me warm as I fished this afternoon, which was over 40 degrees here. I kept the hood up till I walked back to my truck after fishing. It was actually a pretty nice afternoon, and the trout didn't care that I also wore my old reliable fishing vest as well.